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Native plants · Colorado

Native plants of Morgan County

114 plant species are recorded as native to Colorado in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in Morgan County by USDA PLANTS. 53 of them have growing records you can filter by light, moisture, height and estimated cold hardiness.

County summary · USDA PLANTS and Kew WCVP

Morgan County, Colorado

Native species
114 Typical Colorado county: 237 (median of 63 counties)
Garden-ready natives
53 Typical Colorado county: 148
Share by type (all 114 native species)
Percent of the 114 native species in each growth type
Tree 2% (2)
Shrub 11% (12)
Wildflower (forb) 64% (73)
Grass or grass-like 23% (26)
Fern <1% (1)

Wildflowers make up the largest share of the native list (64%), followed by grasses and grass-like plants (23%).

Recorded native ranges can include long-established populations that spread from gardens; check your state’s native plant society list for local guidance. How native status is decided.

ZIP codes mainly in this county fall in USDA hardiness zones 5a to 5b (2023 map).

The native plant list

Cold hardiness is estimated from each plant’s PLANTS minimum temperature. How we estimate it.

Garden-ready natives 53

Native species with PLANTS growing records (height, light, moisture, minimum temperature). “—” means PLANTS has no value.

Garden-ready native plants of Morgan County, Colorado
PlantType HeightLight Water useHardy to
alkali sacaton Sporobolus airoides Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
American water horehound Lycopus americanus Wildflower (forb) 1.8 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
blue grama Bouteloua gracilis Grass or grass-like 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
broadbeard beardtongue Penstemon angustifolius Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
broom snakeweed Gutierrezia sarothrae Shrub 1.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides Grass or grass-like 6 in Sun Medium Zone 3b
Canada wildrye Elymus canadensis Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3a
Canadian horseweed Conyza canadensis Wildflower (forb) 5 ft Sun Medium Zone 12b
common duckweed Lemna minor Wildflower (forb) — Sun High Zone 3b
creeping barberry Mahonia repens Shrub 2 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 5a
crested pricklypoppy Argemone polyanthemos Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
cursed buttercup Ranunculus sceleratus Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 12b
false indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa Shrub 15 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescens Shrub 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3a
golden crownbeard Verbesina encelioides Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
golden currant Ribes aureum Shrub 10 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
granite prickly phlox Linanthus pungens Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Shade-tolerant Low Zone 4a
green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica Tree 80 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 2b
Indian ricegrass Achnatherum hymenoides Grass or grass-like 2 ft Sun Low Zone 3a
Indianhemp Apocynum cannabinum Wildflower (forb) 3.3 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3a
inland rush Juncus interior Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
lemonscent Pectis angustifolia Wildflower (forb) 8 in Sun Low Zone 5a
marsh muhly Muhlenbergia racemosa Grass or grass-like 3 ft Shade-tolerant Medium Zone 3b
narrowleaf willow Salix exigua Tree 10 ft Sun–part shade High Zone 3b
needle and thread Hesperostipa comata Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
Nuttall's povertyweed Monolepis nuttalliana Wildflower (forb) 10 in Sun Medium Zone 12a
Pennsylvania smartweed Polygonum pensylvanicum Wildflower (forb) 3.9 ft Sun Medium Zone 10b
plains pricklypear Opuntia polyacantha Shrub 2 ft Sun Low Zone 4b
prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Shade-tolerant High Zone 3b
purple threeawn Aristida purpurea Grass or grass-like 1.4 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
reed canarygrass Phalaris arundinacea Grass or grass-like 5 ft Sun High Zone 3b
Rocky Mountain beeplant Cleome serrulata Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 12b
rubber rabbitbrush Ericameria nauseosa Shrub 4 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
sand bluestem Andropogon hallii Grass or grass-like 6.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
sand dropseed Sporobolus cryptandrus Grass or grass-like 3 ft Sun Low Zone 3b
sandhill muhly Muhlenbergia pungens Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
scarlet gilia Ipomopsis aggregata Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 5b
scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea Wildflower (forb) 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 5a
spreading yellowcress Rorippa sinuata Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
squirreltail Elymus elymoides Grass or grass-like 1.5 ft Sun Low Zone 3a
tanseyleaf tansyaster Machaeranthera tanacetifolia Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun Medium Zone 4a
tenpetal blazingstar Mentzelia decapetala Wildflower (forb) 3.5 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
textile onion Allium textile Wildflower (forb) 1 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
threetooth ragwort Packera tridenticulata Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Medium Zone 5a
toad rush Juncus bufonius Grass or grass-like 1 ft Sun Medium Zone 12a
Torrey's rush Juncus torreyi Grass or grass-like 3.1 ft Sun Medium Zone 3b
western snowberry Symphoricarpos occidentalis Shrub 3 ft Sun–part shade Low Zone 3b
white prairie clover Dalea candida Wildflower (forb) 2 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3b
white sagebrush Artemisia ludoviciana Wildflower (forb) 3 ft Sun Low Zone 4a
winterfat Krascheninnikovia lanata Shrub 2 ft Sun Low Zone 2a
Woods' rose Rosa woodsii Shrub 3 ft Sun–part shade Medium Zone 3a
woolly plantain Plantago patagonica Wildflower (forb) 6 in Sun Low Zone 12b

Other native species recorded here 61

PLANTS has no growing records for these, so light, moisture, height and zone filters cannot include them. Many are wild species seldom sold by nurseries.

  • annual buckwheat Eriogonum annuum
  • bigbract verbena Verbena bracteata
  • buffalobur nightshade Solanum rostratum
  • bushy knotweed Polygonum ramosissimum
  • Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum
  • chairmaker's bulrush Schoenoplectus americanus
  • common starlily Leucocrinum montanum
  • Cuman ragweed Ambrosia psilostachya
  • curlytop knotweed Polygonum lapathifolium
  • false buffalograss Munroa squarrosa
  • fineleaf hymenopappus Hymenopappus filifolius
  • flatspine bur ragweed Ambrosia acanthicarpa
  • flatspine stickseed Lappula occidentalis
  • foothill bladderpod Lesquerella ludoviciana
  • foxtail barley Hordeum jubatum
  • Geyer's sandmat Chamaesyce geyeri
  • great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica
  • Hopi tea greenthread Thelesperma megapotamicum
  • lacy tansyaster Machaeranthera pinnatifida
  • lanceleaf sage Salvia reflexa
  • long-stolon sedge Carex inops
  • matted sandmat Chamaesyce serpens
  • Mexican Mosquito Fern Azolla microphylla
  • narrowleaf four o'clock Mirabilis linearis
  • narrowleaf stoneseed Lithospermum incisum
  • painted milkvetch Astragalus ceramicus
  • plains bluegrass Poa arida
  • prairie groundcherry Physalis hispida
  • prairie sandmat Chamaesyce missurica
  • prairie spiderwort Tradescantia occidentalis
  • prairie sunflower Helianthus petiolaris
  • redwhisker clammyweed Polanisia dodecandra
  • ribseed sandmat Chamaesyce glyptosperma
  • Rocky Mountain fescue Festuca saximontana
  • rush skeletonplant Lygodesmia juncea
  • rusty lupine Lupinus pusillus
  • sanddune cryptantha Cryptantha fendleri
  • sandhill amaranth Amaranthus arenicola
  • scarlet beeblossom Oenothera suffrutescens
  • shaggy fleabane Erigeron pumilus
  • sixweeks fescue Vulpia octoflora
  • slimflower scurfpea Psoralidium tenuiflorum
  • snow on the mountain Euphorbia marginata
  • snowball sand verbena Abronia fragrans
  • spinystar Escobaria vivipara
  • spreading fleabane Erigeron divergens
  • stemless four-nerve daisy Tetraneuris acaulis
  • stemless Townsend daisy Townsendia exscapa
  • Texas croton Croton texensis
  • tufted lovegrass Eragrostis pectinacea
  • twistspine pricklypear Opuntia macrorhiza
  • veiny dock Rumex venosus
  • velvetweed Oenothera curtiflora
  • velvety goldenrod Solidago mollis
  • wedgeleaf Phyla cuneifolia
  • western tansymustard Descurainia pinnata
  • white heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides
  • white prairie aster Symphyotrichum falcatum
  • whitest evening primrose Oenothera albicaulis
  • whitestem blazingstar Mentzelia albicaulis
  • witchgrass Panicum capillare

Compared with Colorado

The typical county is the median of the 63 Colorado counties with PLANTS county records; the statewide figure counts every species native anywhere in the state. More species is not better or worse: counties differ in size, habitat and how thoroughly they have been surveyed.

Native species counts, Morgan County and Colorado
MeasureMorgan CountyTypical countyStatewide
Native species 114 237 1,119
Garden-ready natives 53 148 585
Tree 2 — 66
Shrub 12 — 92
Wildflower (forb) 73 — 626
Grass or grass-like 26 — 278
Vine 0 — 20
Fern 1 — 37

Neighboring counties

Counties that share a ZIP code with Morgan County.

Look up another ZIP

Matches your ZIP to the county it mostly lies in, then lists the plants recorded as native to your state (Kew’s World Checklist and USDA PLANTS) and recorded in that county by USDA PLANTS.

Source & data date

Source
USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: county distribution records, native status and plant characteristics. CC0 (public domain dedication, per the data.gov catalog record).
Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP): native or introduced status by state. CC BY 3.0.
USGS US-RIIS (ver. 2.0): species listed as introduced are excluded. CC0.
Citation
USDA, NRCS. 2026. The PLANTS Database (https://plants.usda.gov, 11/04/2026). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC USA.
Govaerts R. (ed.) (2026). WCVP: World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Data file dated 2026-06-04, http://sftp.kew.org/pub/data-repositories/WCVP/ (retrieved 2026-11-04). Paper: Govaerts R. et al. (2021) The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. Scientific Data 8, 215.
Data date
Retrieved from PLANTS on November 4, 2026; WCVP data file dated June 4, 2026.
Zones
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) ZIP table: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed November 3, 2026. Plant zones on this site are our estimate, not the official map.
Scope
Morgan County (county FIPS 08087), Colorado. 114 native species from PLANTS county distribution records; garden-ready = species with a PLANTS characteristics record.
Method
A species is listed when it is recorded as native to the state in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in the county by USDA PLANTS. Species PLANTS labels both native and introduced are listed separately. Full method · All sources

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